This is an annotated version of the book1. contains an updated biography of the author at the end of the book for a better understanding of the text.2. This book has been checked and corrected for spelling errorsThis book aims to give in brief space the principal requirements ofplain English style. It aims to lighten the task of instructor andstudent by concentrating attention (in Chapters II and III) on a fewessentials, the rules of usage and principles of composition mostcommonly violated. In accordance with this plan it lays down three rulesfor the use of the comma, instead of a score or more, and one for theuse of the semicolon, in the belief that these four rules provide forall the internal punctuation that is required by nineteen sentences outof twenty. Similarly, it gives in Chapter III only those principles ofthe paragraph and the sentence which are of the widest application. Thebook thus covers only a small portion of the field of English style. Theexperience of its writer has been that once past the essentials,students profit most by individual instruction based on the problems oftheir own work, and that each instructor has his own body of theory,which he may prefer to that offered by any textbook.The numbers of the sections may be used as references in correctingmanuscript.The writer's colleagues in the Department of English in CornellUniversity have greatly helped him in the preparation of his manuscript.Mr. George McLane Wood has kindly consented to the inclusion underRule 10 of some material from his _Suggestions to Authors_.The following books are recommended for reference or further study: inconnection with Chapters II and IV, F. Howard Collins, _Author andPrinter_ (Henry Frowde); Chicago University Press, _Manual of Style_;T. L. De Vinne, _Correct Composition_ (The Century Company); HoraceHart, _Rules for Compositors and Printers_ (Oxford University Press);George McLane Wood, _Extracts from the Style-Book of the GovernmentPrinting Office_ (United States Geological Survey); in connection withChapters III and V, _The King's English_ (Oxford University Press); SirArthur Quiller-Couch, _The Art of Writing_ (Putnam), especially thechapter, Interlude on Jargon; George McLane Wood, _Suggestions toAuthors_ (United States Geological Survey); John Lesslie Hall, _EnglishUsage_ (Scott, Foresman and Co.); James P. Kelley, _Workmanship inWords_ (Little, Brown and Co.). In these will be found full discussionsof many points here briefly treated and an abundant store ofillustrations to supplement those given in this book.It is an old observation that the best writers sometimes disregard therules of rhetoric. When they do so, however, the reader will usuallyfind in the sentence some compensating merit, attained at the cost ofthe violation. Unless he is certain of doing as well, he will probablydo best to follow the rules. After he has learned, by their guidance, towrite plain English adequate for everyday uses, let him look, for thesecrets of style, to the study of the masters of literature.